


That Pressure In His Chest

by AerisCruent



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AerisFic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Neverland, Romance, Wendy Darling/Peter Pan - Freeform, kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-28
Updated: 2013-12-28
Packaged: 2018-01-06 11:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1106352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AerisCruent/pseuds/AerisCruent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wrote it for a prompt that asked me to write a Darling Pan kiss. Peter and the Lost Boys listen to Wendy as she tells them stories, but one of his little boy makes a big mistake, so does Wendy, and because of that, Peter has to punish her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That Pressure In His Chest

**Author's Note:**

> It may be a bit long and fluffy at the end, but I hope you like it =)

When she was telling stories, Peter Pan could swear that Wendy Darling was using magic.

Some kind of magic, fine and barely noticeable, that made the Lost Boys stop their dance, made them sit around her, and cling onto every word of hers. Pan knew even Felix was focused on her with all his nerves, even if he was just glaring at the bonfire, pretending he didn't care.

Sometimes even Peter himself couldn't take his eyes off her, with her eyes sparkling in the light of the fire, as she was telling tales of pirates and mermaids, dragons and fairies. At these times, Peter just stared at her, only her, he couldn't pay attention to the stories but only that strange excitement and happiness that filled her when she spoke about another worlds far, far away from Neverland. This made him go mad, but he couldn't cut her off, her sight was more mesmerizing than that.

She was a _beautiful_ , fragile little bird trying her wings in her cage.

It was a quiet and peaceful night when it happened. The boys took a seat around Wendy, and listened to her without any noise. Pan, as usually, watched her from afar. He couldn't give up on that sweet pain that was pulsing in his chest when he looked at his little bird as she was telling the boys her dreams as a tale, dreams in which she flies away from here.

Of course, it won't happen. He wouldn't let it. _Never_.

But when she finished the story, and her soft voice still rang in his ears, he closed his eyes and imagined – just for a moment, and it was just imagination, nothing else – that she flies and laughs and screams because of joy, and _he's_ the one who made her this happy, because –

"Tell us about what it's like being home!"

His eyes flew open, he pushed himself from the tree to take a better look at the boy who dared to say this. It was the little Tom, one of Wendy's favorites, and he stared at her innocently, waiting for an other story, not knowing how big mistake he just did.

But Wendy knew. She glared at Tom surprisedly, with opened mouth, and she couldn't find a word to say. Then she looked up frightenedly – straight into Peter's eyes –, and there was something on her face that made him stop (he didn't even noticed he was stepping closer to grab Tom to shake into him the fact that _Neverland_ is his home, until that). It was obvious, she was scared of him, of his reaction, and realizing that, suddenly he couldn't make himself get the boy between his hands, but how much he _wanted_ it, yes, his fist was trembling from the lack of Tom's little thin neck.

But he felt like waking up from a dream – Wendy's dream –, weakness inside his bones, and he couldn't simply go there and punish Tom like he knew he should, no, _he just couldn't_ , and that was only because of Wendy Darling's ( _angelic_ ) frightened face. Oh, how much this made him upset, that the only thing he could do was forcing himself to turn away his head, and cross his arms, ignoring this terrible question.

And after a long break, she broke the silence.

"You know, Tommy..." She started. "Your home is where your family is. It doesn't matter where you are, as long as they are with you. Your family is your home. And Tommy, your siblings –

He froze.

_How dared she..._

He just couldn't stand it.

At the next moment he found himself already standing before her, showing her his back, facing with the boys who looked up at him terrified (almost as much as she did), and he got so satisfied from seeing it.

"It's enough." He hissed, staring into Tom's eyes. "Your home is _Neverland_. Your family is _here_. Understood?"

The little boy slowly nodded.

"Good." He smirked. "But now, Wendy needs some rest. She's already talked too much." He said, then turned to her. "Am I right, Wendy?"

His hand settled down on her shoulder, and she froze unmoving under his heavy touch, but she didn't say a word.

"Say goodnight, bird." He bent down to whisper to her ear, but she was headstrong, she turned her head to glare at the ground, and she wouldn't say anything.

Long moments went by like this, the boys watched them breathless, but then Peter squeezed her shoulder, his nails dug into her skin.

" _You_ wanted this."

She felt a weird shaking somewhere around her stomach, and at the next moment she already found herself in the tree-house, on her bed. Peter stood before her, as he did at the camp, with his hand still laying on her, and she instinctively threw it down from herself, looked at him sullenly, with her eyes sparkling from _tears_ she didn't let out, yet. He felt something moving around his chest, something suffocating and squeezing. _Did he really hurt her this much?_

But the thoughts of flying relief came into his mind. Right now, _he_ was the aggrieved party. He, _he_ , the king of Neverland, was willing to give up on a well deserved punishment, only for the sake of Wendy Darling, but she _used_ it, she attacked him underhand, and he could swear she was challenging him, she wanted to defeat him in this situation, so she could give him a cruel, so-not-Wendy smile.

But she was too naive, believing Peter would let it. He never did, and this time won't be an exception. He couldn't leave her fault without retribution.

But before he could say a word, she did. With a trembling voice, close to cry.

"You don't understand, don't you?"

Peter stopped for a moment, surprisedly, because he didn't expect _this_ , but then he put his usual face again, full of hardness and fire.

"I do, bird, I do understand it too much." He said quietly, making sure his words stabbed into her. "That boy made a huge mistake. But _so did I_. I should throw him against the tree at the very moment he said those words!" He shouted, and Wendy shuddered for a second, and he found something very satisfying, but at the same time, something so painfully in that move of her.

"But I didn't." He resumed. "And do you know why?"

She turned her head away.

"Look at me!" He hissed, but she wasn't willing to obey. "I said look at me!" He shouted, and stepped to her, grabbing her chin, and tugged it violently, so she had to look him in the eye. He bent down to her, enough close to make her uncomfortable, and whispered. "Only because of _you_ , Wendy Darling."

She pulled her head from his grip.

"Do you know how big _mercy_ it was from me?"

"It must hurt your pride so much." She muttered, rather to herself than to him, and he didn't bother to react. He just stepped back, crossed his arms.

"You _betrayed_ me." He said quietly, desperately wanting to make her suffering by his words.

She sighed deeply, almost laughing, and shaking from the anger and the held back cry.

"Betrayed you, huh?"

Peter wavered for a moment, because this wasn't the answer he expected, but then he proceeded his speech.

"You were continuing what Tom started. But you were much worse than him. You were _using_ me, Wendy, you were using my -

"Stop!" She screamed, and suddenly got up to him, so they were parted from not even a step. She looked at him starkly, although her tears were already streaming down on her face. "Don't you understand? At all?" She shouted. "I wasn't betraying you, Peter Pan!"

The words got frozen on his throat, and he watched her perplexedly, seeking for answers on her face.

"Then what were - " He wanted to ask, but she cut him short.

"You know what I was trying to say to Tommy?" She said bitterly. "That his family is _here_!" She cried, and couldn't look at him anymore, she stared at their feet instead. "I was gonna say that... h-his siblings were just... s-sitting there with him..." She could barely speak, and as he watched her, he felt his anger slowly disappear to give its place to something much worse. Guilt. "I wanted to say that he has me. Always. And... and there is _y-you_ for him... I wanted to tell him that _we_ are his family!" She shouted at him, and finally looked up with her red eyes, and he felt his throat getting pressed by this strange feeling he got.

"Wendy..." He murmured.

"And d-do you know why would I lie to him?" She asked, deeply staring into his eyes, and his face flinched for a moment. ( _She thinks it's a lie, she thinks it's a lie._ ) "Just because I was so, _so_ happy that you were able to stop. That you didn't do anything to him eventually..." Her breath was trembling, and he barely could stop himself from touching her face, and caressing it. "You have no idea how much I was pleased. How much pleased you got me..."

His chest felt so heavy. She was happy... because of him. _Because of him_.

And he destroyed it.

"But you think I was betraying you, of course you do!" She cried. "Because that's what _you_ would be doing. But I... I'm not you, Peter. I don't want to win, I don't want to defeat you, I don't care about your _sick games_ you put in everything. You're playing all the time... I'm not a player."

Looking at her, he felt such a huge need to comfort her, but he was still in control, so he stayed unmoving, and couldn't speak. Because he just couldn't say those words she wanted to hear, no. His pride was bigger than that.

_The king of Neverland doesn't apologize._

But she moved, she stepped closer, buried her wet face into his chest, grabbed his shirt, and his heart skipped a beat – he was worried that she could feel it, but there was _nothing_ on Earth that could make him push her away.

His arms were still crossed, so he instinctively let them down just to have her closer, because her presence, her shaking body, her warmness and light weight against him was something he caught himself wanting more from.

"I don't know why I don't give up on you." She whispered sobbing. "You don't even know me... I'm nothing like you... I'm nothing like you..."

His hand found its way to her hair, running through it softly, and his other arm wrapped around her waist pulling her closer to him, and he felt her loosing her breath for a moment.

 _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry_ – part of him wanted to say this, but his mind, his _ego_ didn't let him. So before he could say the words, his brain translated what his heart wanted to tell her.

"Wendy... Wendy-bird... Wendy..." He breathed into her ear, burying his face into her hair.

He kept doing this, telling her words only she could made him to say ( _ssssh, don't cry, bird, it's alright, bird, darling_ ), telling her name like a prayer on his mouth ( _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry_ ), until he felt her sobering, her breath getting back to normal.

She slowly lifted up her head, her swollen eyes met his, her red cheeks were wet from her tears he caused and then stopped, and he felt something deep inside him, that he's never felt before, it was like -

"I'm nothing like you, Peter." She said seriously. "Do you know that?"

He frowned worriedly, because she was full of light, so _not_ -like-him, and he couldn't help, he wanted to -

And suddenly he bent down to her, and he _did_.

He _kissed_ her.

It wasn't... _heavy_ or heated, no, it was one soft, warm, wet pressure on his lips where it met hers. One open-mouthed move, that made his heart beat faster. Although she didn't kiss him back, (she was too surprised to react) he could feel her holding her breath under his touch. He took her tearful underlip between his, and gently tug on it as he slowly pulled back his head.

He opened his eyes (when did he closed them?), and as he sensed her salty tears on his tongue, looked at her flushed face, as her eyes were still closed, her mouth opened, and her lips _trembling_ , he thought he has never seen anything that was _this_ delightful as her in his arms after his kiss.

But something in his mind yelled at him. _What has he just done? He kissed her? Comforted her? Caressed her hair? No, no, a king never do such a things, then why would he –_

But he couldn't listened to it, because she opened her eyes. She didn't look up at him, she faced with his chest instead. He could see her pulling herself together ( _but not away from him_ ), and when she did, she looked up at him sharply, and frowned.

" _Do you_ know that?" She repeated.

He couldn't help but raise his eyebrow, and give her a smirk.

"I think I do, darling, but tell me."

(And he was _sorry, sorry, sorry._ )


End file.
